Sycamore falls to defending state champs

A defender tries to stop Sycamore's Kyle Spurlock in a recent game. The War Eagles fell to Trousdale County 34-20 in action last week. The team will host Westmoreland on Friday.
(Photo:
Neil Brown/For The Times
)

Sycamore suffered its first loss of the season on Friday with a 34-12 setback to Trousdale County, the defending Class 2A state champs.

The Yellow Jackets (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss to Macon County to beat the War Eagles (1-1) in the non-district contest.

The home team got an early start and enjoyed a 20-6 lead at halftime.

Sycamore's first score came in the second quarter on a 4-yard pass to Waylon Stotts from Jacob Gibbs. The two-point conversion pass failed.

In the second half, Trousdale County scored both in the third and fourth quarters, while Sycamore added a second score in the final period on a 15-yard run by Darius James. The extra point was blocked.

"Trousdale has a lot of tradition, and it's a tough environment to play in," said Sycamore coach Tyler Williams. "Even though they are a small school, they have some incredible talent and are very disciplined."

Williams said the home team started out fast, and the War Eagles didn't.

"As the game went along, we had some opportunities to make some plays in our passing game that we didn't make ... we have to get better in our passing game," he said. "Our line has to step up and gel together to allow our playmakers to make plays."

Williams said the quarterback and wide receiver positions are still open, and the coaches are looking to see who's going to step up.

"Our running backs are doing well right now when we have the space, but Trousdale crowded the box on us. They might have had all players in the tackle box. When teams are going to do that, you need to be able to pass the ball," he said.

Williams said one reason Sycamore plays Trousdale County is because the Yellow Jackets are similar to the teams in District 9-AA.

"They are run heavy, very disciplined and play good defense — just like the teams we play in our district," he said. "We need to learn from the challenges we faced against Trousdale and step up and make some plays in the future."

The War Eagles will begin district play on Friday when Westmoreland comes to Pleasant View.

"They embarrassed us at home two years ago (39-6), and they beat us in overtime (12-6) last year," he said. "They are 2-0 so it's going to be a challenge for us ... we just need to get better and be ready for them."